Weight Gain And Fatherhood: New Dads Might Gain A Pound Or Two, Study Shows

Becoming a father results in an incredible bonding experience from both neurological and hormonal cues that translate into nurturing qualities. Unfortunately, there also appears to be some unpleasant side-effects related to fatherhood, as well: Weight gain.

Researchers at Northwestern Medicine found that new fathers are likely to put on a few pounds or from having kids--even if they're not living with their offspring. The study tracked the weight of more than 10,000 men from adolescence to young adulthood.

Throughout the 20-year-study, all 10,253 participants had their body mass index (BMI) measured at four different time points: early adolescence, later adolescence, mid-20s and early 30s, with participants categorized either as non-father, resident father or non-resident father. Afterward, researchers examined each participant's BMI at each point and took the average of all those measurements to determine whether their fatherhood status was associated with BMI.

Certain control factors were taken into account that might contribute to weight gain, including age, education, daily activity, income, race, screen time and marriage status.

Findings revealed that your typical 6-foot-tall man who lives with his child gained about 4.4 pounds after becoming a father for the first time. Furthermore, the 6-foot-tall dad who did not live with his child gained about 3.3 pounds, according to the study, accounting for an approximate 2.6 percent rise in BMI for fathers who lived with their children and a 2 percent BMI increase for those who did not.

By contrast, men who did not become fathers during the study period actually lost weight during early adulthood. For instance, a 6-foot-tall man in this group lost about 1.4 pounds, on average from age 23 until the end of the study.

"Fatherhood can affect the health of young men, above the already known effect of marriage," said lead author Dr. Craig Garfield, associate professor of pediatrics and of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and attending pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, in a news release. "The more weight the fathers gain and the higher their BMI, the greater risk they have for developing heart disease as well as diabetes and cancer."

However, as researchers only followed the men until the age of 34, the findings may or may not apply to older fathers.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the American Journal of Men's Health.

Related Articles

Children Are More Likely To Misbehave When A Father Feels Unsupported

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).